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Health promotion researchers and practitioners are grappling with how to address growing health inequalities for population groups. In particular, critiques of dominant behaviour change approaches draw attention to the need to engage with social theories to better understand the social and relational drivers of health. Public health researchers are increasingly acknowledging intersectionality as an important theoretical approach, providing a framework for investigating health inequalities by highlighting intersections of individuals' multiple identities within social systems of power that compound and exacerbate experiences of ill health. This article provides an overview of the diverse ways public health researchers and practitioners have applied intersectionality theory to better understand and address health inequalities. We map three key applications of intersectionality theory in public health: as an epistemological approach, as a methodological approach, and as a tool for action and intervention. Drawing on this work, we argue that health promotion researchers and practitioners can enhance engagement with intersectionality theory to address important challenges within the field. Through this article, we aim to inspire the continued exploration of intersectionality and offer some insights into opportunities and challenges for doing so in health promotion., (© The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Issue Addressed: Gender and sexually diverse young people (GSDYP) are an important target group for HIV/sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention and there is an immediate need to explore ways to make testing interventions accessible and appropriate for this group., Methods: We used a modified World Café workshop with 14 GSDYP in Brisbane Australia, to inform the development of a pilot community-based testing intervention., Results: The workshop identified the key features of an ideal service, which would include multiple, accessible sites that offer holistic, affordable services and confidential care by respectful and knowledgeable providers. The service would allow young people to engage in decision-making processes, have a culturally inclusive, comfortable and friendly atmosphere, and provide free sexual and reproductive health technologies., Conclusion: When designing HIV/STI testing interventions for key groups, health promotion practitioners need to be cognisant of localised and nuanced expectations and ensure that services are tailored to the needs and experiences of the local population. SO WHAT?: This study provides insights into the needs and expectations of HIV/STI testing interventions for GSDYP in Australia, a key at-risk group whose perspectives are not adequately voiced in sexual health research and intervention design., Summary: This study explores facilitators and current barriers to HIV/STI testing with a group of gender and sexually diverse young people in Brisbane, Australia. Outcomes provide insights into the needs and expectations of HIV/STI testing services for this group., (© 2019 Australian Health Promotion Association.)

Health related non-profit organisations (NPOs) provide a potentially important but largely untapped role in mental health promotion in communities. This paper reports on a study investigating the activities and contributions made by NPOs to mental health and well-being. One hundred and eight NPOs based in the metropolitan area of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, participated in a survey exploring agency activities that contribute to promoting mental well-being; factors that helped or hindered the organisation in engaging in mental health promotion activities and evaluation methods and processes. An index of key themes was developed and frequencies derived from categorical data. NPOs undertook five key types of activities to promote mental health and well-being: support provision (81%); service provision (59%); information sharing (52%); activities to promote well-being (24%); and advocacy (6%). Systematic evaluation of longer-term outcomes was rare, with most NPOs (72%) relying on informal feedback from clients. Human resources in the form of paid or volunteer workers were most frequently (58%) identified as contributing to the capacity of agencies to carry out mental health promotion activities. Training and education emerged as a substantive need (34%). NPOs are well placed to enhance resiliency in the context of ongoing health problems, disability or other adverse psychosocial circumstances that place people at risk of mental health problems. As such they constitute a significant resource for advancing mental health promotion goals. What is needed to extend the practice and evidence base in this area is training and skill development for NPO workers, along with larger-scale research conducted in collaboration with NPOs to assess the contributions and cost-effectiveness of the sector.

There is an immediate need to advance knowledge around the effective prevention of intimate partner violence (IPV), which is responsible for significant negative health and well-being outcomes for women around the world. Creative approaches are being explored internationally—this systematic review provides a timely synthesis of applied theater interventions addressing primary, secondary, and tertiary IPV prevention. Six hundred and ten articles were identified through a comprehensive search of five cross-disciplinary databases. Eleven studies discussed in 15 quantitative and qualitative peer-reviewed articles and one book chapter met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review. Articles were appraised using a standardized quality assessment tool and were analyzed within the context of IPV prevention. Of the reviewed studies, five were classified as primary prevention, four secondary, and two focused on tertiary prevention. Specific strategies used by each of the studies included healthy relationship training, rising awareness and community advocacy, service provider training, bystander training, and working with survivors. While the paucity and quality of current literature make it difficult to determine overall efficacy, this review points to the potential of applied theater as a useful prevention strategy, particularly when interactive, participatory methods are incorporated. Further, applied theater could be an effective tool for working in culturally diverse settings as well as with minority groups. Future applied theater program planning needs to include comprehensive evaluation. More rigorous investigation, involving mixed-method research approaches, is required to fully understand the potential of applied theater as a tool in the context of IPV prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines nurse navigation as a model of integrated care operating across primary and secondary healthcare settings. A two-phase qualitative study involving a focus group with seven nurse navigators (NNs) to explore their understandings and perceptions of the role, followed by in-depth interviews with three NNs to examine current practice, was undertaken in Queensland, Australia. NNs' role spanned a continuum of patient and population care, and involved engagement in clinical integration, coordinating patient care and providing education and points-of-contact for healthcare professionals. NNs also engaged in professional integration, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, education and connections between healthcare professionals, while promoting integrated care across care settings. NNs were enabled through the establishment of relationships, trust and shared communication between stakeholders. NNs' work transcended traditional clinical boundaries, operating horizontally across silos and specialties, which allowed them to avoid (some) system shortfalls. By contributing to a culture of integration, NNs can potentially support more sustainable integrated care practices that extend relationships between healthcare professionals and beyond individual patients. Increasing our understanding of nurse navigation as a model of integrated care, this study illustrates the complexity, diversity and breadth of the role and its ability to contribute to broader, system-wide integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to accreditation of our Master of Public Health program, integration of Indigenous public health competencies, and implementation of the health promotion practitioner accreditation in Australia, we designed a core Master of Public Health promotion course. In this article, we begin by describing the three sets of competencies that informed our course development. Despite consensus that reflexivity is central to effective health promotion practice, there was limited reference to reflexive practice within established competencies. However, given our broader alignment with Freire's philosophy of "conscientization," we came to realize that reflexivity was central to our pedagogical framework. In what follows, we describe the conceptualization of reflexivity that guided course development and how reflexivity was integrated into the lecture and assessment content. We highlight how reflection, as part of the assessment, was applied as a means of engaging students in their journey through understanding the inextricably social, political, economic, and cultural nature of health and health promotion practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]